


Between Hell and Earth

by CarryOnMyAngelWingsAndGayThings



Series: Solace [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angel Wings, Angst, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Cooking, Dreams and Nightmares, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Impala, M/M, Men of Letters Bunker, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Hell, Post-Purgatory, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Profound Bond, Slow Build, Sorry Not Sorry, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-15
Updated: 2016-06-21
Packaged: 2018-07-15 03:59:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7206854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarryOnMyAngelWingsAndGayThings/pseuds/CarryOnMyAngelWingsAndGayThings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"He was in a horrible place of hell and Earth combined. Where one wrong move, would send him straight to damnation. No, he wasn’t going to think of that. He had to find Cas and get them out of here."<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Between Hell and Earth

**Author's Note:**

> Bonjour my fellow destiel readers! This is my first fic and I'm sure as hell am excited about it. Suggestions and corrections are welcomed. My bad for any grammar mistakes but even I'm not perfect.  
> *Note: Cas is on borrowed grace and living with the brothers and Kevin in the bunker. Ezekiel never happened because he is an ass and this is my fic, also since its my fic Kevin and Charlie are alive. Bite me.  
> *Disclaimer: All of these lovely characters belong to Eric Kripke.  
> Also a hundredfold thanks to my wonderful beta; Ohiknowlotsofthings10! Luv ya

_His feet thundered on the soft tainted soil, twigs snapped and rocks skittered out of his way as he ran. His breath came out in short panicked gasps. How long had he been running? It felt like days. His legs ached and burned for rest, his lungs worked overtime; harsh and felt as if he couldn’t catch his breath, his feet sent sharp pains as each step hit the ground. The only thought that swam in his head was to keep going, keep running from his enemy. He weaved through the trees desperately trying to find the river where he so foolishly left his weapon. Not paying attention to the ground underneath him, his foot caught a root and next he knew the ground heaved itself towards him. With a cry he fell onto the ground, rolling onto his back he attempted to stand up. A sharp pain shot its way from his ankle; he looked down at it and from the way it was bent he knew he twisted it. This was not his first twisted ankle; in the life of a hunter he had probably broken all of his bones multiple times. Quickly he scanned his surrounding looking for any sign of a threat. When he was slightly satisfied that there was nothing lurking around him, he turned his eyes to the ground, looking for a suitable stick to make a splint. When he found one he ripped the sleeve of his flannel shirt, which was already in tatters and his leather jacket was with his dagger on the riverbank. He grabbed the stick and the piece of cloth and wrapped up his ankle the best he could._

_With a relieved sigh he let himself fall onto his back and his gaze tuned toward the canopy of trees. He didn’t like to give himself a rest like this but after hours of running and his ankle, he kind of needed it. It was twilight, hell it was always twilight here, sometimes he forgot what the sun felt liked on his skin. He forgot what a lot of things felt like, like burgers and pie, like the leather seats of the impala, the feel of the wind on his face as he sped down a highway with his music blaring from the speakers, the sound of Sams laughter, the sound of Cas’s gravelly voice. … Cas. Ever since Cas left him in the beginning, things were hard and he started to forget simple things like those. With a pang, he realized that hell he just missed Cas. When Cas left it was just him, him and this stupid place between hell and Earth. The worst thing though was the loneliness. He wasn’t used to being completely alone, there was always someone with him or someone he was able to talk to. Now he didn’t even bother to talk, what was the point?_

_Something moved above him and Dean snapped out of his thinking bubble. He scrambled up, not taking his gaze off the trees towering over him, and with a wince he was up on his feet. Suddenly there were chain hooks coming down from the branches, each dripping with blood as they shook and were lowering themselves down to him. They were taunting him, they were going to string him up and let the monsters have their way with him. With a panicked cry he stumbled backwards, eyes wide with panic at the hooks that kept coming down. He turned his back and started to run, or attempted to. Forgetting his ankle he tried to full-on sprint away but only ended up face planting in the soft soil. He looked back up and saw the meat hooks were gone. He let out a shaky breath and calmed himself down. There was no hell here, he wasn’t in hell, he was in a horrible place of hell and Earth combined. Where one wrong move, would send him straight to damnation. No, he wasn’t going to think of that. He had to find Cas and get them out of here._

_A soft snap of a twig reminded him that he was never safe and should never get distracted like that. He snapped his head towards the sound, eyes glaring in the darkness, looking for his enemy. Behind him he heard a low growl, an unearthly snarl that chilled you to your bones. Ignoring the pain in his foot, he shot up on his feet and in a defensive hunting form. The thing he was running from had finally caught up to him. The beast sprang up on him from behind; its black claws tore the back of his shirt and most likely drew blood. He twisted around and threw the beast off of him. Caught off guard the creature was thrown off its prey, but got on its feet and started to circle him. Now that he had a better look at the thing he saw it was a hell hound, and well, he was fucked. Its black matted fur gave off a smell of burned flesh so rancid and putrid Dean’s eyes watered. They circled each other both tense waiting for the other to strike, its soulless, black eyes trained on Dean, as though it was trying to figure out what it wanted to do with him. Eat him? Just kill him? Quick? Or messy and slow? Well that was one decision Dean was okay with never knowing the answer to. A quick flick of the hound’s pointed devil’s tail caught Deans attention and his eyes left the hound for a second._

_Just a second, but that was all it needed before Dean was thrown on the ground, the hell hound pushed its ragged claws in his chest. It bared its fangs, each dripping with black goo and about as long as his fingers. The smell that omitted from maw was so disgusting Dean would have probably thrown up if the dammed thing was squeezing the oxygen from his lungs. The hound sank its claws further into Dean and dragged them downward, creating jagged lines of gushing blood. Pain that’s all he felt. Sharp pain shot its way from the gashes on his chest, dull pain from his entire body; too tired and sore for this, pain throbbed from his ankle, he panicked as his breath was taken from him. The fucking hell hound was pushing on his chest as it created more lines. He tried to draw a breath but his lungs wouldn’t expand, all he felt was a big emptiness within him. He heard his ribs snap as the hound pressed on them more. He panicked, his mind was a flurry of terror, he couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t fucking breathe. His vision swam and black dots danced their way across his eyes. The pressure on him was too great and he could draw a stupid breath. He felt his lungs constrict against themselves. He couldn’t last much longer and he knew it, he was going to die by a stupid hell hound that was practically sitting on him. In a last feeble attempt to get it off him he knew he was too weak, and he started to black out._

_The last thing to flutter across his mind was Cas… he couldn’t leave Cas here… and Sammy, he had to get back to Sammy… Cas……._

Dean jolted awake, he could still feel the hot, putrid breath of the hellhound on his face, the burning, stinging pain of the cuts, the pressure…oh god the pressure. He gulped down giant gasps of air, but it wasn’t enough. It felt as though his lungs weren’t working. He couldn’t get a breath. He started to panic, breathing fast trying to get a decent amount of air. But it felt as though the hound was still on him, still immobilizing his lungs. He panicked and tried to get out of the sweat-soaked sheets, but only managing to fall off the bed with a loud thud and the sheets twisted around him, capturing him. He twisted and flailed trying desperately to untangle himself from the sheets that held him tight. All he saw was red; ever burning flames surrounded him as he was strung tight, unable to move on the meat hooks. No. No no no no no, how was he back here? Had he even left? Deans eyes widened in fear as he heard a laugh, a maniacal laugh that sent shivers down his spine. Alastair.

A loud thud echoed from outside, Cas lifted his head from his book to the location of the sound. ‘Dean’, he thought. It was always Dean; Cas knew Dean had been having nightmares about purgatory and hell even if Dean said nothing. And of course Sam had no idea since the moment the Winchesters had gotten the bunker they rushed at the chance to have their own rooms, far away from each other for once in their life. He of course chose the room next to Dean’s. After purgatory he knew Dean would feel better with him close by, but even that didn’t help his nightmares. He closed his hardcover novel, which was Lewis Carroll for tonight, and he lept off his bed once he heard another thud. He quickly unfurled his hidden wings and flew to Dean, even though he was one room next to him but he needed to get to Dean quickly.

Once he was in the room, he saw the messy bed and it was empty. He tilted his head in confusion and saw a lump on the floor next to the bed and twisted in the sheets, struggling to get free. Cas rushed to Deans side on the floor and immediately started to try to untangle him. As soon as he touched Dean, Dean started to thrash getting away from him and the sheets. Frustrated Cas touched the sheets and willed them to go away. The sheets disappeared in a flash and Dean got up to his knees, breathing fast and hard. He was hyperventilating; Cas grabbed Dean in attempt to calm him but Dean pulled away, still gasping his eyes wide in fear and tried a feeble attempt to crawl away.

“Dean. DEAN. You need to breathe.” Cas positioned himself so that he was directly in front of Dean, still grasping his forearms. Dean gulped down air, but his eyes were filled with fear as though he was suffocating.

“Dean, look at me. Whatever you are seeing isn’t real, focus on my voice Dean, I’m right here.”

Dean opened his eyes but only to see Alastair staring directly in front of him. He was strung up on the rack again, flames dancing everywhere and licked all over him, creating nasty welts and burns.

“Ah! Dean, you’re awake. For a moment there I thought I would have to begin without you. But now where is the fun in that?” He picked up a scythe and twirled it experimentally in his hands and walked over the Dean and ran the curved blade over his cheek, “Before the fun begins, Do you want to take the knife? I can make it so you will never feel this pain again, just use the blade Dean.”

He lifted his head up and looked at Alastair directly in the eye, it was the same offer he had every day. But every day his only thoughts were _‘why in the hell would I want to torture innocent souls? I spent my entire life saving and protecting people, and I am not going to stop that now.’_ But every day the offer got a little bit more tempting. So Dean said the only response he had for the bastard, “Bite me you son of a bitch.”

Alastair threw his head back and laughed, “Oh Dean, I plan on doing a whole lot more than biting you.” He whispered in his ear.

Alastair drew back but to only swipe the scythe down his torso. Dean bit his cheek in order from him to scream out. If it was one thing, Dean promised himself that he would never torture an innocent soul and to never scream out, he would handle the pain, there was too much screaming in hell and he refused to give Alastair that pleasure. He groaned again feeling the return of the scythe. All he could hear was blades clinking together, Demons laughing, and screaming. There was so much screaming. From males to females; adults to children. He wished they would stop, stop the damn screaming. But most of all he wished his Dad and Mom weren’t here and that Sammy would never come to this place. He felt Alastair slicing off a chunk of muscle and he sucked in a shaky breathe, eyes watering. And that’s when he heard it… another voice. He tried to focus on the voice but it seemed that the screams only got louder. He heard it again, it was calling his name, Dean. At that moment he was off the rack and Alastair was gone. He focused on the voice that was calling him desperately and reached out to it.

“-Dean it is not real, whatever you are seeing is not real. Wake up!” He focused on the voice letting it guide him back to consciousness.

He opened his eyes to find Cas sitting in front of him grasping his shoulders and he was grabbing Cas’ forearms like it life depended on it. He stared up and Cas’ deep blue eyes, which were filled with worry.

“Dean it’s okay, you are not there now, now would you please breathe?”

Oh. Dean hadn’t realized that once he was lucid he was holding his breathe. Still staring at Cas he took in a shaky couple of breaths before Cas crashed into him. Arms wrapping around his back, he was grateful for the sturdiness and calmness he felt radiate from Cas. He embraced the man back tightly. Still breathing a bit shaky he rested his head on Cas’ shoulder and tried to even out his breathing.

“…How did you know Cas?” he managed to breathe out after a moment of heavy silence.

“I will always be here to save you Dean, I watch out for you and your brother.”

“… Thanks Cas” he said, his voice soft and dripping with gratitude. He knew under different circumstances he would file this as a chick-flick moment but, at this point he didn’t really care and Cas always knew what he needed even if he hide it with his manly macho. After a while Cas, still embracing him, managed to get them both on their feet.

“Go back to bed Dean, it is only 2:40 in the morning. Try to get some sleep.” Cas said in his ear.

Dean pulled away and looked at Cas. The thought of trying to go to sleep without the usual comfort of liquor to lull him to a dreamless night, did not make his situation better. But he saw the worry in his friends eye,

“Yeah, you know what, I think I will. Thanks again Cas.” He lied.

Turning away from the angel he got his blanket from the floor, but he still left the sheets on the floor he didn’t want a repeat of tonight’s experience with them, and got in his bed. He turned away from Cas, hoping he would leave him and he could go grab that whiskey bottle he has in his underwear drawer.

Cas knew Dean. He knew the man wasn’t going to sleep tonight and was only comforting him. With a small sigh he walked over to Dean, faced towards the wall. He bent over the bed and placed two fingers to Dean’s forehead; he let a small amount of borrowed grace comfort and lull the hunter into a peaceful, nightmare-free night. He pulled away and took a few steps back. Even though he put the hunter to sleep, he still grabbed his book from his room and sat down in the chair that Dean had set in the corner of his room, and he watched over the hunter.

Dean felt two fingers on his forehead before he drifted off into sleep. The only thing his mind repeated in his head was his mother. His mother singing to him, and her soft, gentle words _“Angels are watching over you Dean.”_ He replayed that over and over in his head as he slept that night, for the first time completely at peace.


	2. Broken Silence of the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just another day at the MoL Bunker. Dean is his usual stubborn, angst-ridden self, Sam is fine despite what everyone else says, and Cas is actually really good at video games.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter has arrived! (it turned out longer than expected..)  
> Enjoy my lovelies.

Sam opened his eyes and blinked a few times; getting rid of the morning blurriness. With a groan he turned to look at the clock on his dresser; it was 8:32 am, which meant that Dean was most certainly not up and Kevin was probably still in his room. He rolled onto his back and looked at the ceiling before gathering the will to get up. He pushed himself up with a groan, after the trials he was sore everywhere; he felt like a truck ran over him a thousand times, he with a cough he stood up and stretched out his muscles. Once the trials were over; Dean said he was out for 4 days and was coughing up blood non-stop. But now the coughing was to a minimum and he was just sore and tired all the time. He grabbed a shirt and jeans from his drawer and threw them on and made his way to the kitchen. The bunker was silent and slightly cold, even though it was August.

Once he was in the kitchen he made his way straight for the coffee machine, he turned it one with a flick of a switch and the machine thrummed to life. Its humming was the only sound in the bunker. Once it was done he poured a cup for himself and sat down at the table. He heard a door open and shut and the soft padding of feet, which meant it, was Kevin. If it was Dean he would have heard his loud feet thunder down the bunker halls.

“Morin’ Kev, there’s coffee in the pot.” Sam said once the young prophet came into the kitchen.

Sam watched Kevin make a beeline straight for the coffee pot, only giving Sam a grumble in response. With a mug of coffee in tow, Kevin made his way to sit next to him. They both drank their coffee for a moment before Kevin broke the silence.

“How are you Sam?” Sam turned to look at the prophet, who was in return looking at him with knowing eyes.

“I’m f-“he began

“Your room is next to mine Sam; I heard you last night so don’t say ‘I’m fine’.” Kevin interrupted.

He sighed. Last night was rough; he had a different dream than his regular hellish ones. He dreamt of everyone loved ones death, except the worst of it was that he killed them. He saw himself kill Cas and Dean crying out, he saw Kevin die by his hands, he saw Charlie pleading for her life, he saw the life die out in Bobby’s eyes, but worst of all; he killed Dean and laughed as he did it and plunged the knife a little deeper and twisted, watching Dean die out on the ground in front of him.  

“Sam?”

Sam turned to Kevin, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“What? Oh yeah, I’m good. I’ve been better but I’m good.” Sam replied and cleared his throat.

Kevin opened his mouth to say something else but closed his mouth as his eyes drifted to the doorway. Sam followed Kevin’s eyes to see Cas walking in the kitchen. Cas made his way over to them and sat down across from him and Kevin.

<><><><><> 

Dean awoke that morning feeling like he slept for 24 hours straight. He looked at the clock and sunk his face back into his pillow. He felt blissed out and relaxed, and then the memories of last night came trickling back into his brain. With a groan, he buried his face further into his pillow. Damnit Cas, he was already low on the borrowed Grace and there he was using it on his sorry ass. He would have to talk to Cas about not using his Grace for stupid things like that. His stomach made a low growl that demanded to be fed, with a push he rolled of the bed and onto his feet. He grabbed a shirt from his drawer that probably had a band logo on it. He put on his jeans and socks before he headed out to the kitchen.

He walked into the kitchen to find Sam, Kevin, and Cas all at the table. They all turned their heads to acknowledge his presence.

“Good morning Dean, did you sleep well?” Cas questioned with a small tilt of his head and eyebrow rising. Of course Cas asked that. He knew damn well he had one of the best nights of sleep in his life. The smug, little bastard.

“Yeah it was great.” He replied, and then looked at Sam and Kevin who both returned his look with hopeful eyes.

 “What? You two couldn’t make your own breakfast?” he asked incredibly.  This time it was Kevin who answered

“Sam can’t cook for crap, and all I can make is hot dogs, which are disgusting now by the way, and I don’t even want to see Cas attempt to cook. So yeah, you’re the cook in this bunker.”

Dean huffed a laugh at the early morning prophet’s attitude and definitely not the thought of Cas trying to cook. He quickly pushed that thought down the drain and focused on the task of getting breakfast ready. He grabbed eggs and bacon from the fridge and the bread. He busied himself with making; eggs, bacon, and toast. Once he was done he set the plates of food on the table and watched Sam and Kevin dig in. He dished himself up and dug in with them too.  

Once he was full and satisfied he leaned back on his chair. He watched Kevin get up and fill up another cup of coffee and turn to them.

“I’m going to go play some video games. And before you say anything Dean, the angel tablet can wait just a day longer. I’m ready to smash it, burn it, and dump the ashes in the toilet and flush it away forever.” And with that Kevin turned on his heel and left to tend to his video games.

“… The kid does deserve a break and some rest.” He said to Sam and Cas.

“Speaking of resting, how are you doing Sam? And don’t bullshit me.”

“I’m FINE!” Sam threw up his arms, exasperated. “Everyone thinks I’m gonna break with a single poke but I’m better!”

And with that Sam turned to get up and stalked out of the kitchen. With a sigh he ran his fingers through his hair and turned to Cas. Cas was eating a piece of bacon, he nearly laughed at the expression on his face.

“Cas?” he asked “What are you doing?”

“I wanted to try it. Kevin said it was ‘the best thing about breakfast’. “

He laughed at that. He watched Cas eat it with a furrowed brow.

“So? What do you think of it Cas?”

“…I do not know. Now that I have less grace I can taste food more like humans would but I can still faintly taste the molecules and form of it. But I think it is good. But not as good as hamburgers.” Cas replied with nibbles of bacon in between.

Dean laughed again. With a grin he turned to Cas and said,

“Well if you like bacon and can taste food more like we can, I outta introduce you to humanities greatest foods. Like pie for one.”

“I’d like that.” Cas replied looking at him.

Dean swallowed. He should talk about last night with Cas. Get the facts straight. Part of him wanted too but the rest just wanted to ignore the problem. He cleared his throat and took in a breath.

“Uh … Cas?... Listen. Last night was… well you shouldn’t use your ‘mojo’ on me for stupid things like that. Mmkay? I don’t need you wasting your Grace on me. Especially since you’re low as it is already … Anyway thanks but I can fall asleep myself.” He finished lamely.

Cas squinted at him and tilted his head just ever so slightly.

“Dean. I wasn’t wasting my Grace on you. It is my Grace I can choose what I want to do with it. And we both know that you had no intentions of falling asleep after last night.” He points out.

Dean honestly had no response to that. He didn’t know Cas knew about that…

“…Well I need a shower so... yep good talk Cas” He stood up and clapped the angel on his shoulder before turning away. Once he was out of the kitchen, he exhaled a breath of release. He felt kind of bad for changing the subject and leaving so fast but… it was getting a little too personal for his liking.  He dodged a bullet then, but something told him it was probably going to bite him later.   

Cas watched Dean walk of the kitchen, he knew he struck a nerve on Dean, but it was true. Cas put the dishes in the sink and walked out and headed to Sams room. The door was open and he saw Sam, back facing him and he looked as though he was on his laptop. Cas turned away and went to the ‘movie room’, as Dean had called it, and walked in. The room used to be the main living room but Dean and Kevin insisted on putting in a TV and video games. Cas walked up behind Kevin, who sat criss-crossed on the couch, and watched him play. After a while of watching, he saw no point of the game.

“What is the purpose of this?” he inquired. Making Kevin jump and turned to glare at him for sneaking up on him before answering.

“The purpose of video games is to have fun and relax a bit.” Kevin responded.

“Here, you try. Come on, sit down Cas.” Kevin added as he threw him a controller.

He caught it and walked around the couch and sat down, on the opposite side of Kevin. He listened to the instructions and they began to play.

<><><><><><>

Dean walked out of the shower feeling refreshed and a little better about the situation with him and Cas. The bunker had amazing water pressure and heat. The bathroom reminded him of the shower area in a locker room; with multiple shower stalls on each wall. He wrapped the towel around his waist a little tighter before walking out of the bathroom. He rushed to his room, hoping not to run into anyone, because that’s just awkward. Luckily, he made it to his room without any trouble. He closed his door behind him and walked over to his dresser.

He pulled out some clothes, dropped the towel, and got dressed. After running the towel through his hair a couple times he laced up his boots and walked out to go find the others. He walked toward the library and found Sam of course; probably doing his nerdy research or reading. He moved on to the living room on his way to the garage and found Kevin and Cas playing video games. He paused for a moment and leaned on the doorway and watched the two play and bicker.

“What the hell Cas? That’s the 5th time in a row you have beaten me! You better not be using your Grace Cas!” Kevin warned.

“I assure you I am not using my Grace, you have simply forgotten that I am a solider.” Cas retorted calmly as another KO flashed the screen, initiating Cas’ 6th win. Kevin threw his hands in defeat.

“What the hell.” He cried out to the screen.

Dean chuckled and pushed off the doorframe and walked past them to the door that leads to the garage. He opened the door and made his way down the garage to his baby. He strode over to her and ran his hand over her hood as he made his way to the driver’s side. He opened the driver’s door and turned on the stereo. He cranked up the music a little louder until it filled the garage with sweet, sweet music. Better than that new-age crap Sam liked to listen too.

He got out and opened the trunk; it was about time to clean it out and re-stock their inventory. He pulled out 4 empty gallon containers of holy water, 1 empty jug of holy oil, 2 empty salt containers, and 3 empty syringes of dead man’s blood. He set the empty containers on a work table and grabbed the replacements they kept at the bunker. It was a cycle; they would use up the ones in the Impala and switch them out for the full ones in the bunker, then they would restock the empty ones and continue the cycle. It was Sam’s idea and it was a good one, he was getting tired of going to a job to find that they were out of something. Once he finished putting the full containers back where they belonged, he took a step back and looked at the weapons. He was going to have to clean out their weapons soon. But that could wait a day longer. He closed the trunk with a soft clang.

He walked over to the work table they had set up and grabbed the green, metal toolbox. It was about time for an oil change for his baby. He gathered the tools and set off to work. After he changed the oil he got out from under the Impala. Dean looked down at his shirt to find a big stain of oil on his chest; right over his anti-possession tattoo. He peeled off the sweaty shirt and threw it on the workbench. It was fucking hot in the bunker garage. He popped open the hood and took a look in, he had heard some rattling last time he drove her. He grabbed a wrench from the tool box and started to tune her up.

<><><><><><> 

After his 12th win against Kevin, Cas got bored of the game. It was very repetitive and the endgame was too easy and unrealistic. He stood up and gave Kevin the controller back; signaling that he was done. He walked away to go find Dean. He found Sam in the Kitchen, making sandwiches. Sam tuned around to see him staring at him.

“I can make a sandwich Cas, no matter what Kevin and Dean say.” Sam shot out.

“I never said you couldn’t.” he retorted calmly “Also, do you know where Dean is?”

“He’s probably in the garage, working on the Impala. Hey would you give these to Dean and Kevin” Sam said, holding out two plates with sandwiches on them.  

Cas nodded his head in response and left the kitchen. He gave a sandwich to Kevin, who was playing a different game now and was thoroughly engaged in it. Kevin nodded his head towards him and mumbled a ‘thanks’ but his eyes never left the screen. The angel turned away and headed to the garage. Inside the garage, it was much hotter than the rest of the bunker and Dean’s loud music filled the air. He strode over the Impala and saw Dean. The hunter was shirtless and currently bending over into the Impala and singing along with the lyrics.

 

_“She was a fast machine_

_She kept her motor clean-_ DAMNIT CAS!” The hunter had turned around to find himself standing behind him.

“Jesus Cas, we should put a bell on you. Or you should just stop sneaking up on people.” Dean said as he wiped his hands on a rag and turned to look at him. Dean saw the sandwich in his hands and Cas held it out to him. The hunter smiled and grabbed the plate.

“Thanks Cas. I was starving” Dean said around a mouthful.

“It was no problem; also I wanted to see what you were doing.” He replied with a slight upward tug of his lips.

Dean set the empty plate down on the table and headed over to the Impala and turned down the music.

“Well, I restocked the arsenal in the trunk and just tuning up my baby.” He answered, rubbing his hand lovingly on the frame of the Impala.

“Why would you ‘tune up’ your car? Is it not working?” he asked puzzled.

“No Cas, you tune up your car so that your car will always be in good shape. Speaking of, I am almost done. Would you hand me the small wrench on the table?”

Cas grabbed the small looking wrench and gave it to Dean. Dean turned away from him and bent over into the hood of the Impala. Cas watched the hunter bend over, giving him a perfect view of that firm ass. For some reason he could tear his eyes away. After a few minutes he walked over to next to Dean and watched him work. Hours passed by and Dean was still working. Occasionally he would ask questions but mostly he would just observe. He heard a click emanating from the engine and Dean crying out in victory.

“Ha-Ha! Got it. That should take care of the rattling” Dean said as he stood up.

Cas watched Dean straighten out; he rolled his back and shoulders, muscles contracting along. Cas observed as the hunter reached up and closed the hood, arm muscles flexing. Cas had always admired the hunters fit form; from years of hunting. Thick coarse muscles ran everywhere along him. Dean turned around and stared at him. They stared at each other for a while before Dean broke the silence.

“Hey Cas, toss me my shirt and lets go get dinner started.” He said quickly, turning away from him.

Cas grabbed Dean’s shirt and tossed it at Dean. Dean caught it and put it on. Cas watched with a pang of regret. They both made their way into the bunker; Cas trailing behind Dean. They walked in and saw Kevin was gone. Sam was still in the library as they made their way to the Kitchen. Dean opened the fridge and grabbed two beers, offering one to him. He declined and Dean put it back with a shrug. He opened the freezer and grabbed a pizza.

Dean put the pizza in the oven before turning to Cas and popped open his beer. He took a long draught from his beer before turning to the angel.

“So, no word from above on anything?” he asked before he took another swig of beer.

“If you are implying it I can hear any other angels, then no. It has been awfully quiet. I suspect it is because we are no longer connected to the Heavenly Host.” Cas deadpanned.

“So, no angel radio. Huh. Well that’s just great. We have no idea how to get you guys back and no way to know where any angels are. We know they are after you. But we don’t know where they are. That’s just fan-fucking-tastic.” He replied with a tint of anger in his voice.

“Yes, they blame me for the fall. And I highly doubt they would listen to reason.” Cas said with a heavy exhale of breath.

Dean saw a flicker of something in the Angels eyes. Dejection? Confusion? Anger? Sadness? Dean knew this was hard for the angel; being tricked, falling, being hunted and blamed by his entire family. He set down his beer and walked over to the angel, placing his hand on his shoulder.

He looked at Cas in the eyes, “Cas, we know you were trying to do the right thing. And if your family can’t see that then they can go screw themselves. They don’t need you Cas, besides you’re part of our family.” He saw the light flare up again in the angel’s eyes.

 Cas smiled at him, and they stood there for a while before the oven went off. Startled, he took his hand off Cas’ shoulder, walked over to the oven and pulled the pizza out.

“Hey, would you go get Sam and Kevin for me? Thanks.” He asked as he set the pizza on the counter.

A few moments later Cas came back in tow with Sam and Kevin. Kevin immediately pushed his way to the front of the trio; grabbed a plate and dished up. After him and Sam followed Kevin’s lead they all sat down at the table. Sam and Kevin sat on one side and him and Cas sat across from them; their regular seats. They made small talk throughout their meal, about heaven, trials, and Kevin kept bringing up a rematch against Cas. After dinner Sam headed off to take a shower and Kevin went stumbling off mumbling about ‘re-charging his batteries’ and getting his ‘beauty sleep’.

That left him and Cas. He stood up, chair scraping the tile, and grabbed the dishes. He trudged over to the sink and started to wash the dishes. Cas came up next to him with a towel. He grabbed the clean, dripping dish from his hand and started to dry it. They fell into a pattern; he would wash and rinse and Cas would dry and put away. Once all the dishes were done, they walked out to the library. Dean stopped in the doorway and gave a low chuckle. There was Sam; sitting at the table, head completely buried in books and snoring like a train. The kid was wiped since the trials, it wasn’t really a surprise when once Dean found him asleep after he just got out of the shower; still wrapped in a towel. He walked over to him and motioned for Cas to follow. There was no way he could haul a sleeping Samsquatch to his room alone. He put his fingers to his lips, asking for silence as he wrapped one of his brother’s arms around his shoulders. Cas did the same and together they managed to haul Sam to his room, and flopped him on the bed. Once Dean took off Sam’s shoes and threw a blanket on him, he motioned at the door, turning off the lights as they left. They walked past Kevin’s room, too see the door closed. Dean pressed his ear against the door and heard a soft snore of a sleeping Prophet.

Cas followed Dean back to the main living room after they checked on Kevin. He watched the hunter walk over to a cabinet and pull out a bottle of whiskey.

“Dean-“he began.

“Nope, I’m getting drunk tonight.” Dean interrupted before he had anything to oppose to.

Cas watched Dean throw glass after glass up, drinking the contents. After Dean’s 4th glass he paused to look at him, and held out the bottle.

“What? Do you want some?” Dean snapped.

He turned his eyes away and sighed. He knew why Dean was drinking before he went to bed. But the problem was talking to Dean about it. Every time he tried to talk to Dean about his drinking, he got shot down by Dean.

“Dean” he tried again, looking directly at Dean.

Again, Dean interrupted him. “No, Cas. I appreciate what you’re trying to do for me but I’m fine. I can handle my liquor before bed.”

“That’s not what I was going to say. We both know why you’re drinking before you go to sleep.” He said staring at Dean with hard eyes. “You are scared to sleep.” He said softer.

Dean didn’t say anything but take another drink. Dean looked up from his glass and met his gaze.

“I’m not scared. Is it wrong for me to just want a drink before I go to bed?” Dean accused his voice hardening.

Cas sighed. Well he was getting somewhere with Dean; getting him to talk a bit more.

“I’m going to bed. Night Cas” Dean said with a hard, guarded voice, slamming the glass down and walked past him.

Cas watched the hunter brush past him and turned down the hall, towards his room. He heard a door close roughly. He exhaled and went to his room. He was definitely going to talk to Dean about his dreams. He knew what they were about and no man should ever experience all the hardships Dean had. Or Sam had. He wished he could take some of that weight off of the Winchesters, but life was never easy. After all that was a part of his father’s plan. He grabbed a book that Sam had recommended to him and started reading, still alert for any sound Dean made.

It was half past 1 before he heard something. It was a small whimper that broke the silence of the night. He closed his book with a soft thud and got up, walking to Dean’s room. He heard another, louder, whimper and opened the door. Dean was on his bed but curled up in a ball, sweat beaded down his face and his face scrunched up in pain. He walked over to Dean and put his hand on Dean’s forehead, he saw flashes of Dean’s dream; red, screaming, trees rushing by, hooks dangling, a snarl of a monster, blood, a twilight sky, flames, a howl piercing the night, a laugh echoing. He pulled away and looked down at the hunter sadly. He put two fingers on Dean’s forehead and watched as the pained expression relaxed to one of peace. He heard the slower, steadier breaths of the hunter and pulled away. He walked over to the chair in the corner of the room and sat down. He wasn’t going to leave Dean tonight, not after his promise. He watched Dean sleep peacefully for the rest of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song mentioned is "You shook me all night long" by AC/DC  
> Comments and Kudos are a yes please!  
> *spoiler: Charlie may or may not be in the next chapter....

**Author's Note:**

> I do plan on continuing this, I'm planning on it being hella long. Comments are warmly welcomed, cherished, and devoured....what?!


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